Universities reaching critical point in finding new income, says president of University of Missouri system

As state support for higher education decreases, the president of the University of Missouri system is advocating public institutions work together to share resources.

Gary Forsee shared his perspective on higher education in Missouri during a luncheon Thursday for the Cape West Rotary Club. He said universities are reaching a critical juncture in the next three to five years as they look for new ways to cut costs and fund capital projects.

"You can just downsize for so long," he said.

Universities will have to be more creative about finding new sources of income, he said.

Forsee, who graduated from Cape Girardeau Central High School, took over the university system's top position in February 2008. University leaders announced their decision to hire Forsee months after he was removed as president and chief executive officer of Sprint Nextel Corp. in October 2007.

He said he is trying to streamline operations, including human resources and purchasing, at the system's four campuses. He said he is also reaching out to other university presidents for cooperation to showcase their individual strengths.

Coming from a business background, he said, he was open about his lack of knowledge of academia but showed willingness to learn.

"I think that disarmed the notion that there's a three-headed businessman coming in to screw up the academic world," Forsee said.

He developed new accountability measures and benchmark standards for the universities. The new evaluation system will be audited by December to measure its effectiveness, he said.

During his first year as president, he also took measures to maintain financial stability as the economy slumped. The system froze salaries and forced employees to contribute to their pensions. Because of a hiring freeze, he said, 500 positions remain open.

"A lot of our classroom sizes have suffered as a result of it," he said.

When Gov. Jay Nixon delayed or vetoed capital projects at universities across the state, a $31.1 million cancer center at the University of Missouri at Columbia was put on hold. The vetoes included $4.5 million for a business incubator at Southeast Missouri State University.

"That really has hurt all the four-year institutions in the state," Forsee said.

The governor has expressed interest in revisiting a statewide bond issue to start those projects, saying the state needs to develop a better system of funding university capital projects. Nixon wants to take advantage of the Build America Bonds, which offer financing methods approved by Congress.

"Frustratingly, there hasn't been a recurring capital program in the state," Forsee said.

It will be tougher to fund construction for higher education if legislators do not take advantage of the opportunity, he said.

"That's just a reality of how the economy will work," Forsee said.

He said the Cape Girardeau visit is part of an effort to reunite with classmates from high school. Forsee lived here for two years before attending the University of Missouri-Rolla, which is now Missouri University of Science and Technology. He recalled Cape Girardeau as a special place with strong community support for education.

"There's only one place you were born and one place you graduated high school," he said.

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